Brainstorming strategies: Exercise

Transcript: Brainstorming strategies — exercise

John and Lena are discussing their next team meeting. They are talking about having a brainstorming session with their team members. They want to generate ideas for their upcoming sales conference. John has never run a brainstorming session before. Lena has run several such sessions.

John will make a suggestion about the session. In the pause, decide if you agree or disagree with his idea. Then you will hear Lena’s opinion. OK. Let’s begin.

John: We want to get as many ideas as we can.
Lena: I agree. The more the better.

John: So we should all sit round a table.
Lena: I disagree. It’s better if we stand around a flip chart.

John: And we all shout out together the different ideas?
Lena: No. I disagree. We take one idea at a timejeweilsat a time and write it down.

John: But we don’t discuss the ideas until afterwards, right?
Lena: I agree. We just collect all the ideas first.

John: Unless there is a totally crazy idea, which we should to reject sth.etw. verwerfenreject immediately.
Lena: I disagree. A crazy idea might lead us to some different good ideas.

John: I think we should have a time limit, though.
Lena: I agree. Having a time limit gives the process a sense of urgencyDringlichkeiturgency.

John: Once we’ve collected all the ideas, you and I can choose the best ones.
Lena: I disagree. The whole team can help to prioritize sth.etw. nach Prioritäten ordnenprioritize the ideas.

John: This could be fun.
Lena: I agree. If we can make it fun, it helps people relax and get more ideas.

How was that? Did you agree with Lena’s ideas about brainstorming? Brainstorming is a very useful tool when you want to encourage people to be creative. But it needs to be done in the right way, as Lena was well aware.